Sawdust Maker

Here is a saw I made. It has a cocobolo handle, slotted copper back, .032” 1095 steel blade, and split nut screws. The saw took a lot of trial and error to get it cutting smooth. I first toothed it at 9 TPI but ran into issues right away. The teeth bit way too hard in anything besides doug fir to be practical, I tried filing the teeth with a bit less rake to them but it is a heavy saw with wide teeth, it wasn’t going to work. I refiled it to 11 TPI with a mild rake angle and it ended up being the right combination for cut speed and smoothness. It still has a bit of grab when starting the cut but it goes smoothly after that.

I’ve got a blog going on how I build these and will be adding more of the steps I take to make the saws. Quick note on the copper spine: it is must slower to mill when compared to brass.

I love custom-made tools, and this looks fantastic. The copper and cocobolo look great together. Most dovetail saws have finer teeth, as you’ve found… maybe try 14 ppi or higher on the next one. I think mine is 18 ppi.

You are right about the higher tooth count for the more dedicated dovetail saws. I recently did an 18TPI and it cuts dovetails nicely but struggles with tenons because the shallow gullets fill up quickly.